The Neutral Port dock was bustling with people and noise. As the two headed towards the shipyard, they planned their escape route through a mental exchange.
"We have several options, the two most stable being: one is to accept the help of spies and escape using a stargate, the other is to conceal our identities and slowly traverse the Shattered Star Ring."
"Both are risky. If we want to traverse the star system, the Krent's Seoul Star Cluster and the Black Star Army's Colton Star Cluster are forbidden zones and must be avoided."
"There's another way, though, that we can try our luck... At the center of the Shattered Star Ring is a cluster of wormholes; we can use those unstable wormholes to escape this star system."
As the two were discussing, they suddenly sensed someone following them from behind. They paused, turned around, and saw that the Black Star Army members they had just encountered were following them, frequently glancing at them.
Taylor was startled. "Why are the Black Star Army targeting us?"
"Don't make a fuss, let's see what they're up to. Maybe it's a misunderstanding..." Sagman frowned, pretending not to notice, and went to the hangar on his own.
After turning a few corners, the crowd around them gradually thinned out. Several Legion players were still following the two, and the two realized that the Black Star Army had indeed set their sights on them, seemingly trying to find out the location of their spaceship.
The two exchanged a glance.
"What should we do? Have they recognized us?"
"It doesn't seem like it... but just in case, let's take them out and prevent them from following us. Then, change our disguise immediately."
"This is a neutral port. Don't make too much noise, and don't let others see that we were the ones who did it."
"Alright, I'll make them disappear without a trace."
On the other side, several Legion players were following behind, chatting in the squad channel.
"These two red-named individuals pose an extremely deadly threat. Can we defeat them?"
"It's alright. The Legion will give extra rewards for capturing space pirates. If they are confirmed to be space pirates, we can request assistance from nearby Legion members."
These players had already used detection on Sagman and his companion. They hadn't revealed their real names, but instead displayed pseudonyms, which were red names representing the opposing faction. Their information was full of question marks, with only the danger level section showing "extremely lethal."
Red-named monsters are common in StarCraft, most of them are space pirates or scavengers. So when these players see that Sagman and his companion are red-named, they assume they are space pirates. Red-named characters are not unable to communicate, but due to their hostile relationship, they are very easy targets for attacks.
The Black Star Army and the Crimson Dynasty are on the same side. Recently, the Empire has been in open confrontation with the Arcane Church, so Arcane Church members have become hostile red names on the Black Star Army's side.
Several players were about to continue tracking when, in the next moment, they suddenly found themselves in a state of being in spirit vision, seeing their bodies turn into white light and disappear, entering a state of waiting to be resurrected.
"Huh? How did I die?"
"Me too, what the heck? I didn't see any attacks at all?"
Several players were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly opened the panel to check the combat prompts. Although they hadn't seen how the enemy attacked, the panel displayed damage alerts and the attacker's name was one of the two red-named players. It seemed to have used a silent mental attack spell that instantly killed several players.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. However, what shocked them was the amount of damage they suffered... 84,000 points of damage?!
The group almost thought they had misread a zero. Over 80,000 damage... that's many times our maximum health! This attack is enough to kill us several times over!
What kind of power does this have?
What level are these two red-named monsters? Are they Calamity Grade?!
A surge of immense curiosity welled up within the players.
"It seems we've encountered someone extraordinary."
"Big fish, contacting them should definitely trigger a hidden storyline, right?"
As they were discussing, one player seemed to be deep in thought, then suddenly his expression changed, and he said:
"Easily dealt us over 80,000 damage... Remember the Battle of Lighthouse Star dungeon we fought yesterday?"
"... Wait, I think I understand now!"
The group was horrified to realize that their squad had not participated in the Shattered World exploration, but had remained in the Shattered Star Ring to work for the Mercenary Alliance. So when the Battle of Lighthouse Star instance was released, they immediately tried it out, and while suffering in the instance, they had died from an unknown AOE attack of Beyond Grade A, a memory that remained vivid.
And this level of damage... seems to be the standard power level for those Beyond Grade A weapons in dungeons?!
In other words... those two "extremely deadly" red-named monsters might not just Calamity Grade, but Beyond Grade A?!
And then, thinking back to the recent top-ranked mission within the legion to hunt down Beyond Grade A Arcane Church...
The players suddenly realized that they seemed to have encountered a mission objective?
After using stealth magic to eliminate the Black Star Army members who were tracking them, Sagman and Taylor quickly found the hangar, broke free of the interlocking orbit, and flew out through one of the dock gates of the spaceport into outer space, slowly departing from the Neutral Port space station.
The two purchased a common model of small spacecraft, which is readily available and quite inconspicuous.
As the neutral port receded from sight, and seeing that no Black Star Army warships pursued them, the two secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Taylor was relieved.
He silently eliminated several Black Star warriors; the difference in strength was too great, and no one could discern his methods. It seems his identity will not be exposed.
For safety's sake, the two decided to change their identities again and buy a new spaceship at their next stop.
However, they still couldn't understand why these members of the Black Star Army would target them. They had only exchanged a few glances, and they hadn't given anything away.
Sure enough, Black Star's subordinates were all strange.
Black Star Army Headquarters, Mechanical Workshop.
Click click click--
On the frustum-shaped operating base, a dozen robotic arms and several welding torches are assembling a humanoid machine body under Mechanical Force traction. As the various mechanical parts are connected together, the product gradually takes shape.
The robot, fresh from the furnace, was a deep red, with cooling guns around it spewing out a mist of coolant and hissing as it rapidly cooled down.
This step was completed quickly, followed by rapid painting according to the procedure. In a cold white mist, the silver, black and yellow robot was created and stood quietly.
Han Xiao waved his hand, causing the various tools to automatically retract into their operating bases, and then said, "Phillip, perform adjustments and self-tests."
"Understood. RX001 generation mechanical body, codenamed ' Mammoth,' initiating the first round of adjustments..."
The flow of nanoparticles across the robot's surface resembles the opening and closing of scales.
The self-examination quickly yielded results, analyzing various parameters and presenting them to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao browsed through the product's specifications and nodded in satisfaction.
This time, he didn't create mechanical warriors, but rather "vessels" to carry the crucial skill [Dominator's Descent].
Han Xiao had already tested the effects of [Dominator's Descent]. In the actual test, he found that different models of mechanical warriors, as carriers, shared different abilities, depending on the mechanical warrior's own performance, components, and materials.
He discovered that the mechanical warriors used in combat were not the best carriers, and using [Dominator's Descent] on mechanical lifeforms was actually less than ideal. Mechanical lifeforms possessed their own will, with two consciousnesses sharing one body, which weakened the power he projected. If too much power was forcibly projected, it would also damage the mechanical lifeform's own thoughts. In terms of serving as a carrier, they were not as good as mechanical and book warriors.
Therefore, after various calculations, Han Xiao felt that only by customizing a mechanical body specifically for the [Dominator's Descent] could the effect of this skill be maximized.
Perfectly, if [Dominator's Descent] is performed on the same target multiple times, there is a chance to form a soul connection, which would likely enhance the effect of the descent. He doesn't intend to simply treat the mechanical body as a consumable; it would be better to use it as a long-term vessel.
This mechanical body utilizes a variety of precious synthetic materials, including a new material he synthesized using [Endless Material Science], named "First-Generation Black Star Alloy." It possesses powerful energy, physical, high and low temperature, high pressure resistance, and Nano Repair capabilities, and can absorb and convert various types of energy. The material is extremely tough, with a dense atomic structure, capable of withstanding extremely high loads, and is very durable—a crucial condition for maximizing the effect of [Dominator's Descent].
He tapped the outer armor of the "Mammoth" mechanical body with his finger, but no crisp tapping sound came out, as if the vibrations were absorbed by the alloy.
"Indeed, a material with energy absorption and Nano Repair effects has a chance of sharing my energy conversion and cell regeneration template expertise when the Dominator's Descent." Han Xiao pondered.
He was just about to test the actual effect when Phillip's voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Master, a member of the Legion has provided a lead on the whereabouts of a Beyond Grade A Arcane Church. Based on the priority you set, I'm informing you directly, bypassing Sylvia."
Han Xiao's eyes lit up. "Oh? Someone actually got a clue. Let me see."
The next moment, the view changed, and the intelligence report was displayed before them, which was the report from the players who had been instantly killed.
Although they couldn't reveal player information like being a red-named player, and could only explain uncertainly that they had been killed, Han Xiao knew the nature of players and wouldn't doubt their superiority in information. He quickly scanned the intelligence and already had a general idea of what was going on.
"There's a high chance they're Beyond Grade A members of the Arcane Church. There are only two of them, and they definitely split up... Hmm, these two are disguised, and they certainly have more than one disguise. These players have alerted them, so they'll definitely change their disguise again... But this intelligence is still a breakthrough."
Han Xiao was excited. The biggest problem in the Empire's search operation was that they couldn't pinpoint the whereabouts of the four targets, so they had to search everywhere like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Now, although these players alerted the enemy and failed to track the two individuals, they did confirm the location of the two Beyond Grade A individuals. This is very helpful for the Empire's search operation, as they no longer need to search blindly and have significantly narrowed down the Empire's search area.
"In this respect, players seem to have an advantage in their search capabilities... Hmm, I've got it..."
After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao opened the panel, quickly wrote a quest, and issued it only to players through the faction panel.
[Crimson Dynasty Search and Reconnaissance Operation - Regional Survey]
[Mission Brief: The Black Star Army has obtained a clue that a suspected Beyond Grade A figure from the Arcane Church has appeared in the Hearth Neutral Port in the Fleur Star Cluster - Three Trees Star System - Ninth Star Zone. Legion members are now being recruited to search this area. If any new clues are found, please report them immediately for an internal reward -- Legion Commander Black Star]
[Mission Requirements: Search the area to locate the target and report any clues.]
[Tip: The target is disguised to some extent. Pay close attention to red-named characters with a danger level of "extremely lethal". If they are traveling in pairs, they are very likely the mission target.]
[This is a prize pool task. Accepting the task requires 200 experience points. Those who find clues can share the prize pool equally.]
[Pool: 10 million experience, 3 million Enas]
[Current cumulative rewards: 0]
After checking it over and finding no problems, Han Xiao sent out the task.
He is now incredibly wealthy. He once risked his life for hundreds of thousands of Enas, but now he spends 3 million Enas without batting an eye. He has completely degenerated into a corrupt capitalist tycoon.
Having developed to its current state, the Black Star Army has amassed considerable wealth and boasts promising prospects. Recently, numerous conglomerates have contacted Han Xiao, seeking to help the Black Star Army go public and engage in blatant exploitation. He has temporarily rejected all offers.
As for the players who provided the intelligence, Han Xiao was generous and gave them a substantial reward through his interface.
"Oh, and make a copy of this intelligence report and give it to Tarrokov."
"Okay, I understand."
After finishing these tasks, Han Xiao asked, "Are the warships of those legion members still docked in that neutral port?"
"Yes, hum."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, twisted his neck, and immersed himself in the Quantum Network Vision, looking eager to try it out.
"Alright, Phillip, hack into the neutral port's database and establish a data link."
Each terminal controlled by Phillip can serve as a virtual intrusion point, allowing Han Xiao to infiltrate databases in different locations.
Asking players for help is only one aspect. Han Xiao also plans to use virtual intrusion to thoroughly investigate the entry and exit records of the neutral port, find the disguised identities used by the two, and then follow the clues to find out everything about these two identities, which may yield more useful information.
In the quantum network era of interstellar space, almost every interstellar citizen will leave many traces online, such as where they were born, what jobs they have done, where they have been at what time, account spending, etc. Everything is recorded. In the eyes of ordinary hackers and virtual mechanics, the privacy of most people is transparent.
Although those four from the Arcane Church were all Beyond Grade A, they were all specialists in their own fields, and none of them were mechanics. Naturally, they couldn't use virtual technology to erase the traces they left in the quantum network.
This gave Han Xiao an opportunity.
"They might change their disguised identities, but they shouldn't switch ships during the voyage. By checking the ship's stop logs, we can potentially track their movements."
Han Xiao nodded secretly.
The player has done a great job this time. Once the target's whereabouts are exposed, escaping from a virtual mechanic won't be so easy.
Thinking of Lagi's persuasion not long ago, Han Xiao's expression became slightly strange.
That's quite a sharp, poisonous prediction...